~ Smart is the new sexy.

Victorian Hottie of the Week: US President Franklin Pierce

I spent quite some time combing my new Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era looking for some hotties, but the search was disappointingly futile. While there are many profiles of prominent male Victorians in the Encyclopedia, most of the portraits are from late in their lives and none really qualified as hotties by our usual standards. So I turned to the old reliable History Crushes Tumblr blog for a little inspiration, and as usual, it delivered. Enter US President Franklin Pierce.

Pierce was one of the middle-history presidents that nobody remembers much about. Somehow in AP US History in 11th grade, I managed to miss the fact that he was pretty handsome. Not sure how that could have happened. Pierce was our 14th President, in office from 1853-1857. Another thing I didn’t remember from APUSH was that he wasn’t such a great Prez. Wikipedia says he’s considered one of the worst because he exacerbated regional tensions and failed to prevent the Civil War. Seems kind of harsh to blame all that on one dude – that mess started way before Pierce came into office – but everyone knows Wikipedia never lies, so there it is. But…he is hot. And apparently, he was also very charming and had a deep voice.

Pierce was in the Senate the same time as one of my old faves from APUSH, John C. Calhoun. For some reason, we always said his name as John C. Calhooooooon. I can’t resist adding a few pics of Mr. Calhoun – not because he’s a hottie, but because he looks crazy. The hair! It’s too good.

Yes, Mr. Pierce was a crummy president for many reasons. Interesting side note: The Presidents Bush are related to him. Moving along, I came across this amazingly photogenic New Zealand CRIMINAL mug shot and thought you guys. Seriously, this man could have modeled!!! He reminds me of a modern day actor, but I just can’t place the modern man’s name. . . .grrrr.

Don’t know what my g-grandparents were thinking, but they named one of their three sons for Franklin Pierce. My g-uncle used his middle name rather than his first name, however: “(Franklin) Pierce Bassett”. Like his brothers, Uncle Pierce was tall, handsome, and a very good man.